Boris Johnson confronts Moscow over allegations of Brexit meddling

Boris Johnson's visit to Moscow descended into a slanging match as the Russians accused him of "making up" allegations of Brexit meddling in an ugly public disagreement.

Mr Johnson's trip to Moscow, the first undertaken by a UK foreign secretary in five years, was aimed at breaking the deadlock between the two nations.

But the Foreign secretary and his counterpart traded blows over allegations of Russian hacking in British elections as Mr Johnson became the first to officially call the nation out on its actions.

The extraordinary exchanges, which played out in front of journalists and diplomats, saw the two men accuse each other of being dishonest as Mr Lavrov claimed there had been no attempts to derail the British democratic process via cyber hacking.

Interrupting, Mr Johnson rejected the claim, stating instead that none of the attempts had been successful and pointedly referring to widespread Russian interference in elections around the world.

It came as Mr Johnson refused pointedly to answer when asked if he trusted his counterpart Sergei Lavrov or not, despite the Russian minister saying that he did.

Later, as the two men wrapped up the press conference after a two hour bi-lateral meeting which was at times fraught, the British foreign secretary joked that he had handed his coat and hat over to Mr Lavrov in a show of trust and affection.

"There was nothing in the pockets", Mr Lavrov said, prompting Mr Johnson to reply in surprise: "You've checked. How do you know!".

Boris Johnson, left, and Sergei Lavrov during a press conference following their meeting in MoscowCredit:
Andrew Parsons for the Telegraph

The meeting in Moscow was an attempt to break the deadlock between the two states in order to start work on important international issues like North Korea and Syria.

But tensions were exposed over cyber security, following claims made by Mr Johnson ahead of the visit that the UK is ready and able to respond to Russian aggression at any moment.

Speaking ahead of the meeting Mr Lavrov pointed remarked on the press coverage of the poor relations between the countries, telling Mr Johnson and the British delegation: "Our relations are at a low level, and not because of our side"

He added: "You prefer to talk about the reasons publicly.

“Whereas we would prefer to talk about our reasons for mutual concern not through the microphone but directly."

Boris Johnson and Sergei Lavrov enter a hall during a meeting in MoscowCredit:
Andrew Parsons for the Telegraph

The row was reignited during a later press conference when Mr Lavrov claimed Mr Johnson had deliberately contradicted him in a bid to protect his reputation with the British media, prompting the UK foreign secretary to hit back: "It's your reputation I'm worried about Sergei".

He added: "Russian attempts to interfere in our referendums and elections, whatever they might be, have not been successful."

Had they been successful, he said, "that would have been an entirely different matter".

Mr Lavrov responded that "the absence of action can never result in anything" and asked to see "concrete facts" about their alleged unsuccessful attempts.

"I think you have made all this up in your Western community and unfortunately right now you are hostage to this subject, it is very difficult for you to climb down from the fence you have climbed."

The evidence produced so far of Russian attempts at interference amounted to no more than the spending of "a few kopecks" on social media adverts, he said.

Mr Lavrov also criticised Britain for cutting off ties with the FSB security agency over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London, complaining that UK authorities had refused to hand over information in the case.

He said that the takeover of Crimea had been approved by a referendum of its citizens unlike the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Boris Johnson and Sergey Lavrov meet in MoscowCredit:
Reuters

And he said that UK government criticism of politicians who speak to Russian media outlets like the RT TV channel did not reflect well on the UK, after David Gauke accused the station of being a propaganda tool.

"We are concerned that the cradle of democracy, the United Kingdom, sees the vilifying of people for speaking to Russian media," he said. "It doesn't add to the good reputation of the Government unfortunately."

Mr Lavrov protested that Russia had done nothing to deserve its reputation for hostility towards the UK.

"I can't remember any actions of Russia that would have been aggressive towards the UK," he said.

"We never accused London of anything. On the contrary we heard some accusations - sometimes formulated in an insulting manner - against us that we allegedly support the criminal regime in Syria, that we are aggressors and occupiers and annex someone's territories.

"We hear aggressive statements from London, from the media, from the leadership and from officials. Despite all that, we have never taken aggressive measures to reciprocate."

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